After my son’s first illness in a while, I’m so glad I’m still nursing and that we can still create a family bed. Last night my son said he had a “stomachbake,” and he clearly had some gas, but he fell asleep fairly easily around 7:30. Then, when he woke at 9:00 p.m. crying, I…
breastfeeding
My name is…What?
“Look, Mommy! Look! Jessica! Jessica!” My son has taken to calling me by my first name if I don’t respond to my parental moniker when he’s called it out two or three times. My ears perk up and I realize I was ignoring my darling little boy for eight seconds. Yesterday I left him asleep…
Busy mouths
A hickey, a buzz, chocolate and babysitting all in one night. Sounds like high school. But it was really my husband’s 37th birthday. And he wasn’t the one to give me the hickey. Even though it was his special day, I decided to hand the toddler over to my husband so I could go for…
Boy, Meet Your Penis
I thought it was cute when my 23-month-old son tugged on his male member and said, several times in a row, “Hi, Penis.” I thought it was funny when he pointed to his father’s post shower noodle and labeled, like he does so many other objects, “Penis.” I did not think it was as funny,…
Little Tits Yoga
Who knew I’d create a television tyrant? My plan was to remain TV-free for at least my son’s first two years. Well, not counting hanging out with his dad in front of some Saturday or Sunday sports with no sound and Tivo-ed-through commercials. As a proudly crunchy mama, I figured it was hardly progressive to…
Little Mouth Speaks
I started this blog with the intention of getting down all the reflections and insights I had as a mom that someday would turn into witty, poignant essays. It was supposed to keep me from feeling like my head was full of stuff I couldn’t get out, to be the in-between repository of ideas so…
Show me your breastfeeding!
Breastfeeding is in the news a lot these days, in part because of protests over one woman being asked to cover her baby with a blanket while she nursed him at an Applebee’s. I didn’t make it to one of those protests, and I haven’t read everything under the sun about this. But after I…
Fitting in Fun, by Necessity
I think the only time I really played with my son today was in the basement while the house was being cleaned upstairs. It felt different than any other five minutes. I had to be in a position of no other choice in order to fully be with my child. What was I doing the…